Hydraulic elevator



(No Model.) 3 SheetsSheet 1.

J. SMITH.

HYDRAULIC ELEVATOR. No. 307,998. Patented Nov. 11, 1884.

July. 1.

N. PETERS. Fhplo-Lilhngrapher. Washmgtnn, D. C.

(No Model.) 3 Sheets- Sheet 2.

J. SMITH.

' HYDRAULIC ELEVATOR No. 307,998. I Patented Nov. 11, 1884.

WITNESSES |I lV ENTOR Jami/Lam Smii/L N4 PETERS. PholmUXhagmphen washm lan, D. (L

a Sheets-Sheet a. J .7 SMITH. HYDRAULIC ELEVATOR.

(No Model.)

. Patented Nov. 11, 1884,

WITNESSES.

INVENTOR QTOnai/zan Smit/z By .dfzorney Unrrnn Srarns PATENT Orrice.

JONATHAN SMITH, OF TOLEDO, OHIO.

HYDRAULIC ELEVATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 307,998, dated November 11, 1884.

Application filed January 2, 1883. (No model.)

To (ZZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JONATHAN SMITH, of Toledo, Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Hydraulic Elevators,

of which the following is a specification.

My invention consists in certain improvements in the construction and arrangement of the working parts of a hydraulic elevator, which can best be explained and understood by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure l is a front elevation of that portion of a hydraulic-elevator apparatus in which my improvements are embodied, the hand-wheel on shaft 19 being removed in order to show the parts beyond. Fig. 2 is a vertical section on line 2 2, Fig. 3. Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the apparatus. Fig. 4 is a section, on enlarged scale, on line 4 4, Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a vertical central section,on enlarged scale,of the upper portions of the hydraulic cylinder and piston, the plane of section being at right angles to that in Fig. 2. Fig. 6 is an elevation,on enlarged scale, of the sliding counterbalanceweight box. Fig. 7 is an elevation of one of the weights. Fig. 8 is a section on line 8 8, Fig. 6.

The several parts of the apparatus are supported by a suitable pedestal or base, A. The hydraulic cylinder is shown at B, and its piston at O. The piston is of considerably smaller diameter than the cylinder, as indicated in Figs. 2 and 5, and it has peripheral contact with the cylinder only at the top of the latter, where a stuffing-box, B, closely surrounds the piston, and serves both to pack the joint between the piston and cylinder and to furnish a bearing for the piston. This arrangement is economical and convenient, inasmuch as it is not necessary to bore out and accurately finish the interior of the cylinder, which can they are readily accessible.

thus be left in the rough. Theonly finished part is the stuffing-box portion B, in contact a with which the piston moves; and I am also enabled to introduce the water at the upper end, instead of at the base, of the cylinder, thus bringing the'pipe-joints to a point where The stuffing-box portion B is also enlarged, so as to form an annular chamber, a, into which the waterpipe D enters, and this chamber, by an annular passage, I), at its bottom, communicates with the interior of the cylinder, opening into the annular space which intervenes between the cylinder and piston. By this arrangement the periphery of the piston is shielded from the direct impact of the water discharged from pipe D. Ordinarily this water strikes with force directly against the side of the piston,with the result of soon scoring and groov ing its exterior; but by permitting the entering water to exert its initial force upon a wall interposed between it and the piston, and to then pass in an annular stream into the cylinder and in contact with the piston, its action on the latter is modified and ceases to be injurious.

I employ in this apparatus the well-known system of multiplying-pulleys, whereby a pis ton having a comparatively short range of movement can impart very greatly increased movement to the elevator-car.

The apparatus is designed to have two independent and separate hoisting-ropes, x for the car. To this end it has two independent sets of pulleys, one for each rope; and in the present instance each set is composed of three pairs of pulleys, so that, supposing the piston to have a travel of eight feet, the elevator-car will have a travel of about fortyeight feet. The two sets of pulleys are lettered E F, and they are arranged on opposite sides of the cylinder B in the guide-frame G. The lower pulleys of each set are mounted on axles 0, supported at the one end by the cylinder and at the other end by the guide-frame. The upper pulleys of each set are mounted on a common axle or shaft, (1, carried by and moving up and down with the piston C. The projecting ends of the shaft or axle d are provided with hubs e,which fit and move in vertical guideways f in frame G, as indicated more plainly in Fig. 4.

It will be noted that in each set of pulleys the lower pulley, from which the rope goes to the car, is made larger than the others, as indicated at E F. This is to prevent possibility of the rope, after it leaves this pulley, from having contact with orbeconiing caught or entangled with the portions of the rope which pass from pulley to pulley.

In order to hold the rope securely in place ICO on the lower pulleys, Iplace on diametricallyopposite sides of them horizontal shafts f ,having loose rollers f which run sufficiently closely to the pulleys to prevent the rope from dropping from them. The device also prevents the rope, should it accidentally break, from getting snarled under the pulleys. I employ,'as usual, a counterbalance-Weight; but this device presents some peculiarities of construction and arrangement which should be noted. It consists of abox, H, connectedwith the upper end of piston by a rope, g, which passes over a loose pulley, h, on the top of the frame G. This box is placed upon the exterior of one of the vertical sides of the frame,

and can slide up and down in accord with the movement of the piston, being held in contact with the frame by ears 6, which enter side guide-grooves, j, in the frame. The construction of the box is plainly shown in Figs. 6'and 8, its face is open, and it is provided on this face with vertical flanges 7a, which project inwardly from opposite sides, and extend up to near the top of the box, leaving, however, at the top an open space, m, of the full width of the box, and of a length a little greater than that of any one of the weightsections with which it is to be loaded. These sections are lettered I, and are made of metal or some weighty material. They are shouldered at Z, so as to have a cross-section similar in shape and size to the interior of the flanged part of the box. They are inserted into the box at m, and are then dropped or lowered,resting one 011 the other, and held firmly in place by the flanges of the box, as indicated in Figs. 6 and 8.

This device is simple, convenient, and admits of a readyhandling and shifting of the weights. s

It remains to describe the valve-operating mechanism by which the admission and discharge of water into and from the cylinder are regulated.

It is usual to provide an arrangement by which the car, when it reaches either extreme of its movement, is automatically stopped. This ordinarily is done by the car itself, top and bottom stops on the hand rope or rod being provided,with which the car comes in contact,with the effect of moving the rope far enough to bring the valve to its central position-that is to say, a position in which the cylinder is cut off from communication with the inlet and discharge parts. My improvement in this direction consists in acting directly upon the hand rope or rod for the purpose of automatically stopping the car, not with the rapidly-moving car, but with the slowly-moving piston, whereby I am enabled to shift the valve to the proper point with greater ease, precision, and certainty, andwith much less danger of injury to the valve-connections and valve.

The manner in which I carry out the improvement is shown plainly in Figs/'1 and 3.

J represents a double piston-valve of a the movement of the car.

known type, (shown in section in Fig. 3,) connected on the one hand with pipe D and on the other hand with supply and escape pipes K L.- At one extreme of movement it admits water into the cylinder through pipe D. At the other extreme of movement it permits water to discharge from the cylinder through the same pipe, and in its neutral or central position it closes all communication between D and both K and L. The valve is actuated through the intermediary of a rack valve -stem, 11,- which engages a pinion, 0, fixed on a rock-shaft, 12, having on it a pulley and weight, 1* 0*, for counterbalancing the weight of the valve, and carrying at its other end a pulley orwheel, s, for the hand-rope s, which passes up the elevator-well through the car, in the customary way,and serves, as usual, as the instrumentality by which the attendant or occupant of the car starts,stops,0r reverses The automatic stopping of the car at the completion of its upward or downward movement is, however, not effected through the instrumentality of the car or of the hand-rope, but is provided for otherwise, viz zfUpon the rock-shaft p is a second pinion, t, which meshes with a vertically-sliding rack-bar,o,supported in a guidebox, c, on frame G, and attached to avertical rod, w, which extends up to the top of frame G, and is supported in guides w, in which it can move up and down. At points on the rod 10 corresponding to the uppermost and lowermost points to be reached by the piston in its travel are stops a,formed of nuts which may be adjusted up and down upon the screw-threaded portions of the rod, as indicated in Fig. 1. From the adjoining end of the pulley-shaft carried by the piston projects a tappct-arm, I), provided with a hole, through which the rod w passes. This arm (see Fig. 4) is held rigidly in position on axle d by means of side lugs or flanges, If, on it, which embrace the adjoining edges of the frame Gr, and thus prevent the arm from oscillating or tilting. From this arrangement it results that as the slowly-moving piston approaches the upper limit of movement the tappet-arm 1) comes against the upper stop and-gently lifts the rod, with the result of shifting the valve to its neutral position, thus bringing the car to rest. The attendant then, when the car is ready to descend, pulls on the hand-rope, so as to move the valve farther in the same direction, in order to open the discharge. As the car reaches the end of its downward journey the tappet-arm on the piston, striking against thelower stop on the rod, again brings the valve to neutralpositiomthus again stopping the car.

Having now described my improvements, what I claim as new and of my invention is as follows:

1. The combination, with the piston, of the hydraulic cylinder having a diameter greater than theipiston, and provided at its upper ICO end with a contraction, B, which constitutes a bearing for the piston, and is formed with an annular Water-receiving chamber, a, and passage 1), substantially as and for the purposes hereinbefore set forth.

2. The combination, with the valve an d handrope, by which the same is operated during the ascent and descent of the car, of the piston and the independent stop-rod connected with the valve, and operated on directly by the piston or some part moving in unison therewith at each extreme of movement, to effect the shifting of the valve to neutral position, substantially as and for the purposes hereinbefore set forth.

3. The combination, with the valve, the valve, gearing, the rock-shaft, and the hand-rope, of the vertically-movable stop-rod, provided with top and bottom stops anda rack gearing with a pinion on the rock-shaft, and the pistonpro- 2o JONATHAN SMITH.

Witnesses EWELL A. DIoK, J. WALTER BLANDFORD. 

